Daily Features: Top Headlines, Memes, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.

THE FOUNDATION

“We are, heart and soul, friends to the freedom of the press. It is however, the prostituted companion of liberty, and somehow or other, we know not how, its efficient auxiliary. It follows the substance like its shade; but while a man walks erect, he may observe that his shadow is almost always in the dirt. It corrupts, it deceives, it inflames. It strips virtue of her honors, and lends to faction its wildfire and its poisoned arms, and in the end is its own enemy and the usurper’s ally, It would be easy to enlarge on its evils.” —Fisher Ames (1807)

IN BRIEF

Well that escalated quickly. ABC canceled its reboot of the hit sitcom “Roseanne” hours after its titular star, Roseanne Barr, went on a Twitter rant. National Review’s Mairead McArdle lays out the basics: “Actress and producer Barr made remarks Monday on Twitter comparing former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett [who is black] to a cross between the Muslim Brotherhood and ‘Planet of the Apes.’ ‘muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj,’ Barr wrote in a thread where another user suggested Jarrett had helped the Obama administration conceal facts.”

Immediate calls for an apology — which Barr provided — were quickly superseded by demands that her show be canceled. ABC soon bowed to pressure. “Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,” said ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey in a statement later Tuesday.

“I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans. I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks,” Barr said. “I should have known better. Forgive me — my joke was in bad taste.” She said she was leaving Twitter, only to come back later and blame the sleep medication Ambien.

But this is nothing new for Barr, and it’s been a long time since she “knew better.” As we noted two months ago when her show was relaunched, she’s subscribed to all sorts of conspiracy theories, from being a “9/11 truther” to believing that the Boston Marathon bombing was a “false flag.” She’s called Israel a “Nazi state” and then slammed Hillary Clinton for plotting Israel’s destruction. She insisted on reeducation camps or beheading for “guilty” Wall Street bankers in 2011. Barr is a socialist who ran for president in 2012, trying to get on the Green Party ticket but instead settling for that of the “Peace and Freedom Party.”

The most galling thing about it all is that ABC tried to market the new show by appealing to supporters of President Donald Trump — because Barr is herself an economic populist who is a fan of the president, albeit not for conservative reasons. Unfortunately, it’s all the better for the network to hang her around Republican necks only to brand her as a racist and then cast her out of polite society.

Keep in mind that ABC is the same network that employs serial misogynist Jimmy Kimmel and Joy Behar, who mocked Mike Pence’s (and all Christians’) faith on “The View.” ABC-owned ESPN employs Keith Olbermann, whose history of vulgar Twitter outbursts is legendary. And it’s the same network that canceled the show of conservative comedian Tim Allen simply because he’s conservative.

If the Department of Veterans Affairs debacle taught us anything, it’s that government accountability has been virtually nonexistent. Things are finally beginning to change, however, thanks to the Trump administration’s no-nonsense approach to draining the swamp. On Friday, the president signed three executive orders that administer various forms of accountability across public unions. Here is a brief breakdown of each executive order:

The firing process for unruly workers is now considerably quicker. Instead of receiving upwards of 120 days to demonstrate better behavior, workers are now limited to 30 days.

Union leaders face time constraints as representatives. Their union work must now be confined to a maximum of one-quarter of work hours. There is also a proscription against using “official time” on congressional lobbying and acting as a proxy for “employees who have filed a grievance or are appealing an adverse personnel action,” according to Government Executive. Free rent and paid expenses are also henceforth forbidden.

A quick aside: The Washington Post was quick to point out that the executive orders “can be undone by the next president.” But it apparently doesn’t share that view when it comes to Trump’s undoing many of Barack Obama’s blatantly illegal executive orders.

Predictably, Trump’s EOs prompted severe backlash. The American Federation of Government Employees fumed: “President Trump is attempting to silence the voice of veterans, law enforcement officers, and other frontline federal workers through a series of executive orders intended to strip federal employees of their decades-old right to representation at the worksite.” Moreover, AFGE General Counsel David Borer warned, “My lawyers are already looking at what possible violations of the law are contained within the executive orders, and we will take action accordingly.”

Furious as unions may be, though, the fair interpretation of the public union reforms comes via Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), who observed, “These executive orders strive to make the federal government more efficient, not only for the taxpayer, but for our great federal workers. We have thousands of federal employees who work very hard for the nation; it’s important that their work is not frustrated by the poor performance of a small few.” What Trump is doing is finally getting rid of the laissez-faire approach of past administrations regarding unaccountable public unions. As the VA proved, it could literally save lives.

FEATURED ANALYSIS

“Politicians never accuse you of ‘greed’ for wanting other people’s money — only for wanting to keep your own money.” —Joseph Sobran

The Democrat response to GOP tax cuts provides a case study in both greed and hypocrisy. Prior to passage of the bill, Democrats excoriated it as an apocalyptic measure that would destroy the lower and middle class while making the rich richer. “Armageddon,” Nancy Pelosi warned — before she dismissed the cuts as “crumbs,” anyway. Now that the tax cuts have resulted in a massive influx of new revenue to the states, Democrat-controlled states are using every scheme they can think of to keep those tax cuts from staying in the pockets of American workers.

As the provisions of the proposed GOP tax cuts were debated, Democrats engaged in misrepresentation, lies and outright demagoguery to prevent Republicans from securing a legislative victory for President Donald Trump. Much of this related to state and local tax deductions, which Republicans reduced for higher earners in exchange for lower rates.

California Gov. Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown decried the tax cuts as “evil in the extreme,” while New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo hysterically labeled the bill as a “missile of destruction … aimed at New York.” The New York Times peddled the claims of “state and local officials in high-tax states like New York, New Jersey and California,” who warned the tax cuts would “strain state budgets.” Likewise, The Washington Post claimed the law would make it “harder for states and cities to pay their bills.”

The Republican tax cuts have generated significant new revenue by expanding the base of taxpayers while simultaneously limiting tax deductions and lowering rates. In other words, more people pay to fund the government they say they want, but each person pays a lower rate. This has stimulated wage increases, bonuses, capital investment, business expansion and repatriation of foreign profits.

So far this year, California has seen $3.8 billion more in tax revenue than the state projected. In New York, tax revenue exceeded forecasts by $315 million in February alone. Connecticut coffers were flooded with an additional $1.3 billion over projections, and Colorado ($197 million) and Minnesota ($416 million) are also projecting huge rewards.

For state governments, that is.

While legislatures in Republican-controlled states like Georgia, Idaho and Iowa have used higher revenues generated by the tax cuts to lower state income tax rates, Democrat-controlled states are looking for ways to spend the money before the taxpayers ever see it.

In Minnesota, for example, Democrat Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed a bill passed by the Republican-controlled legislature that would have prevented a tax increase on Minnesota residents.

It is abject hypocrisy to watch the same Democrats who wailed that the tax cuts would devastate their taxpayers now steal the additional wages right out of their pockets. For what? To justify more vote-buying schemes and government spending. And they are quite open about the fact that they don’t care if, much less how, it is paid for.

At the national level, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced a bill to make most college free, but deflects questions about cost, admitting, “After the tax cut, there’s almost no enthusiasm for worrying about how to pay for new proposals.”

Indeed, much like the so-called “stimulus” bill (which never stimulated anything but Democrat cronies) passed by Democrats and signed by Barack Obama, Democrats see this flood of new revenue as an opportunity to fund a leftist wish list of government spending. Schatz aligns with Sen. Bernie Sanders in demanding “free” college. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) demand another $100 billion for education. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has called for a “public option” (i.e., fully socialized health care) and expansion of Medicare by lowering the eligibility to age 55, and to do so with no budgetary offsets. Pelosi and other Democrats are calling for taxpayer-funded guaranteed jobs.

Pelosi was very ominous in an interview earlier this month, claiming the GOP tax cuts are “a dark cloud over our children’s future” and expressing deep concern about the growing national debt. Yet when asked how the guaranteed jobs would be paid for, she stated she would need to see first how much it might cost, before adding, with no apparent sense of irony, that “Democrats believe you must pay as you go.”

Yes, these would be the same Democrats who called President George W. Bush’s $4 trillion in new debt “irresponsible” and “unpatriotic” before racking up a staggering $10 trillion in new debt. These are the same Democrats who are willing to shut down government rather than concede to even minuscule spending cuts.

This whole process has proven definitively what Republicans have been claiming for years — namely, that people respond to incentives and disincentives accordingly. Democrats raise taxes on soft drinks and cigarettes to discourage their consumption, yet bafflingly, can’t grasp that higher tax rates discourage productive labor, capital investment and consumption.

But while Democrat brains seem impermeable to economic facts, we hope the American people will remember, come November, that rather than a Democrat-predicted economic Armageddon, these braying jackasses instead look foolish decrying economic prosperity thanks to Republican efforts.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Marc A. Thiessen: “On Wednesday, President Trump will sign a national Right to Try Act into law. In the states, Right to Try has not been a partisan issue. In most instances, it passed without a single dissenting vote. The issue brought together politicians who never worked together on any other issue. In Illinois, for example, the bill was cosponsored by state Sen. Mike Connelly, a socially conservative Republican, and state Rep. Greg Harris, a liberal Democrat who is HIV-positive. As Connelly told me, ‘This is the first bill I’ve ever encountered that is both pro-life and pro-choice. It gives people the freedom to choose to fight for their life.’ But, sadly, this spirit of bipartisanship did not translate to Washington. Only 22 House Democrats voted for the final bill that Trump will sign. In August, a version introduced by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) passed the Senate by unanimous consent, but stalled in the House, which eventually passed a more limited bill from Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR). Last week, Senate Republicans tried to accommodate Democratic objections by bringing up the Walden bill for a vote, but Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer blocked it from coming to the floor. So the House passed the Johnson version, with Democrats nearly united in opposition. In other words, Democrats in Washington managed to take an issue that unified thousands of legislators from both parties in 40 states and turned it into a divisive, party-line vote. Thanks to Trump, Americans facing terminal diagnoses will now have a new chance at life. How tragic — and pathetic — that Democrats refused to join him in making that happen.”

SHORT CUTS

Village idiots: “The Founders gave us impeachment to answer a reckless, lawless, and dangerous president and every day that his behavior is accepted, every day that you don’t oppose it, it becomes enshrined as the way things are done. You have normalized this presidency, you have normalized his behavior.” —billionaire leftist Tom Steyer

The BIG Lie: “The fact that children are being torn out of the arms of their mothers is on Donald Trump’s head and nobody else’s.” —Sen. Liz Warren (D-MA)

Demo-gogues: “Friends who know me, know that I love football. But I won’t be watching this NFL season because of the unfair, cowardly and idiotic kneeling ban.” —Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), who hates patriotism as much as Colin Kaepernick does

Braying Jenny: “Tone starts at the top, and we like to look up to our president and feel as though he reflects the values of our country.” —former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett responding to Roseanne Barr’s tweet and blaming Trump for it

Braying Jackass: “Roseanne’s problem turned out to be that she far too authentically represented the actual worldview of a significant chunk of the Trump base.” —MSNBC’s Chris Hayes (“This is how you got Trump.” —Ben Shapiro)

Hollywood glitterati: “The hate that has been spewing from those in Trump’s orbit has really taken a toll on all of our souls and psyches.” —"Will & Grace" star Debra Messing

And last… “If only Roseanne had attended those Starbucks diversity training sessions, all this could have been avoided.” —Ben Shapiro

Join us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way in defense of Liberty, and for their families. We also humbly ask prayer for your Patriot team, that our mission would seed and encourage the spirit of Liberty in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis

Nate Jackson, Managing Editor Mark Alexander, Publisher

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